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LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

October 22, 2025

What’s Driving Illegal Gold Mining in Peru?

Indigenous groups in Peru have been warning that illegal gold mining is resulting in the contamination of rivers and food supplies in the Amazon. // File Photo: Roman Bodnarchuk via Adobe Stock.

Q

  • The Andean Community trade bloc has ordered Peru to urgently reform its laws to curb illegal gold mining and mercury trafficking, after Indigenous groups warned that rivers and food supplies in the Amazon are being contaminated. The decision came as mercury levels in local communities far exceed global safety standards and gold prices soar, making the illegal trade more lucrative and raising concerns about public health and food insecurity across the region. What are the potential consequences for Peru if it fails to comply with the Andean Community ruling? Why has illegal gold mining become such a persistent issue in Peru? What forms of regional cooperation exist to protect vulnerable communities from mercury poisoning and food insecurity?

A

Luis E. Fernández, senior fellow at the Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability and research professor of biology at Wake Forest University: The Andean Community’s order for Peru to reform its laws on illegal gold mining and mercury trafficking arrives amid political upheaval. The impeachment of President Dina Boluarte on Oct. 10 and the rapid swearing-in of President José Jerí have created a power vacuum that illegal mining networks are likely to quickly exploit. If Peru fails to comply, it risks diplomatic marginalization within the Andean bloc and the Minamata Convention, as well as further erosion of authority in Amazonian territories—where mercury exposure already exceeds accepted safety thresholds and Indigenous communities are blockading rivers to demand protection from illegal miners. Illegal mining persists because the system rewards it. High global…”

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